Kevin Clark
Pro Scout · Columbus Blue Jackets · Former professional player“He is one of the most knowledgeable strength and conditioning coaches I have had the privilege of working with during my 15 years as a professional hockey player.”
For clubs and selected players
Does the training make the player better?
Magnus works with clubs and players to make sure strength, speed, conditioning and reconditioning improve what the player can actually do on the ice.
TrainingTestingReturn-to-play
Applied performance
The gym is not the final test.
The question is not whether the player trained hard. It is whether he can skate, repeat, absorb contact and make decisions at the speed the game requires.
Some players need more force. Some need repeated speed. Some need tissue capacity before another speed block. Some need a safer bridge back to contact. The plan has to fit the player, the calendar and the game before it can move anything that matters.
The staff should be able to see the difference on the ice.
Testing and monitoring
Only test what you are prepared to act on.
Force plates, sprint splits, jump profiles, HRV, lactate, VBT and workload data are useful when they change a decision. The number never matters more than the player.
Readiness
What can the player express today, not only tolerate?
Direction
What needs to be protected, rebuilt or pushed next?
Transfer
Will the result change training, reconditioning or selection?
Training design
Build for the season, not the off-season.
The plan should build the qualities the player will need when games, travel and contact begin to accumulate.
Push when there is room to push. Hold when the player needs it. Sharpen when the season is close. The calendar and the player decide the plan.
Reconditioning and return-to-play
Cleared is not ready.
Medical clearance answers whether the injury allows a return. Performance staff still have to prepare the player for speed, contact, fatigue and decisions.
A good reconditioning process rebuilds tolerance, confidence, speed, contact readiness and game rhythm in the right order. The player does not return to a spreadsheet. He returns to forechecks, back pressure, bad ice, travel, adrenaline and a coach who needs him now.
Player proof
The player should know why the work matters.
Players trust the process when they understand it, feel prepared and can use it when the schedule becomes difficult.
Joacim Eriksson case note
After complex knee surgery, the initial estimate was up to twelve months. Rehabilitation had to rebuild the knee, the player's confidence and his ability to handle the game again.
Joacim Eriksson
Professional hockey player · DEL“He took charge of my rehab, pushed and motivated me every day. Against all odds I played 7 months later.”
When the programme is not the problem
A good plan can still pull the player in three directions.
Medical staff can say one thing, performance staff another and the coach something else again. Each may have a fair point.
When that happens, the player is not the problem. He is where the problem becomes visible.
Look at player health
Performance inquiry
Tell Magnus what is not changing on the ice.
Describe the player group, the training and what you are actually seeing in games.
A few direct lines are enough.
Start simple
Write what you are seeing.
Kept confidential.
Which players are involved, what have you tried and what is not changing?